Some entrepreneurs set out from day one to make the world a better place. Most don’t. The majority are simply looking to generate income, rather than actively contributing to a better and fairer world. Anita Roddick was among the few entrepreneurs who started a business with both in mind. In 1976, she opened The Body Shop in Brighton, UK, with just 15 products. She set out to redefine beauty and promote a fairer deal for everyone in the supply chain, including animals that were tortured for cosmetics testing. Her philosophy was that “business shapes the world. It is capable of..

What makes a plain-looking leather handbag worth $35,000?  Why would anyone pay $7,000 for a night in a hotel room that has precisely the same number of beds, bathroom towels and windows as almost any other?  When one can buy a pair of plastic reading glasses in the dollar store for, well, a dollar, why does adding a brand name on the side increase the price a thousand-fold? The answer is “luxury” and the strange effect it has on consumers.  The strangest phenomenon of all is the “Veblen Good” - the term for a luxury item for which demand rises..

It has been a common refrain to hear, probably for the better part of two decades, that “Print is dead.” And while overall print media has declined over that timeframe and once mighty print publications have chosen the fully-digital path or shuttered completely, the last few years have seen some surprising success for print, particularly magazines. All it took was a pivot to a new model, and perhaps mindset, from both publishers and advertisers. Magazines that reach a specific audience, and that provide the niche information that audience wants in a beautifully-produced publication are finding a home among readers. In..

Whenever I sit down to write this column, I start by thinking about the things I’d like to talk to the most senior people in my clients’ firms about over a coffee—so, grab one and let’s chat. There is an adage that good creative work is a trade-off between time, quality, and money. You can have two out of three: fast and good but not cheap, cheap and good but not fast, or fast and cheap but not good. In my experience, particularly here in Vietnam, clients are prepared to pay a little more or even sacrifice quality but never..

This publication is called [C], which I believe stands for “C-Suite”, so I assume I am talking to the boss. It’s nice to have the undivided attention of the top-level decision-maker for a few minutes so I’ll try to make the most of it. In this column, I will try to offer some advice to help your brand work harder for you and maybe avoid some common pitfalls. This month, I want to implore you to be more human. Not you personally, but your brand. Sometimes I think we forget that brand communication is just people talking to other people...